Lodi police investigate crash as homicide (UPDATED: 5:44 p.m.)

LODI — Murder charges will be pursued against a 28-year-old Lodi man who authorities said got behind the wheel of his SUV last Tuesday with a “complete disregard for human life” and caused a horrific crash that killed five members of the same family, an unborn child and critically injured a 9-year-old.

LODI — Murder charges will be pursued against a 28-year-old Lodi man who authorities said got behind the wheel of his SUV last Tuesday with a “complete disregard for human life” and caused a horrific crash that killed five members of the same family, an unborn child and critically injured a 9-year-old.

Ryan Morales, 28, is believed to have been under the influence of alcohol and driving his 2002 GMC Yukon at “freeway speeds” on southbound Ham Lane when he entered the Vine Street intersection and collided with two other vehicles and involved four other vehicles that could not avoid the wreckage, Lodi Police Chief Mark Helms said on Monday.

Helms spoke in front of the media about the crash for the first time on Monday, providing some new information including that the only reason Morales has not already been arrested is that he is still being treated at a Sacramento hospital and is not medically cleared to be in jail.

For more of this story, see reporter Keith Reid's report in Tuesday's Record.